Hawley urges candidates to sign ‘Declaration for Life,’ establishing support for protecting human life

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is urging officeholders and candidates from both parties to sign a “Declaration for Life,” a pledge that prioritizes pro-life policies and calls for a national ban on the abortion drug mifepristone. 

Hawley unveiled the document Sept. 16 after hosting the first annual Missouri Prayer Breakfast with dozens of Christian leaders in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building, according to a statement released by his office.

Speaking at a press conference after the prayer breakfast, Hawley said, “This is a declaration for life, calling on the country to once again embrace a culture of life and in particular to put a stop to the scourge of the abortion drug known as mifepristone.”

He said more than 30 pastors from across the country drafted the four-page declaration, which has already been signed by at least 100 Missouri pastors and 50,000 citizens. 

“The defense of human life is the oldest of American causes,” the declaration states, adding that the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation of the right to life is the “most foundational of all rights.”

The document argues that the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade did not end abortion nationally and that the widespread availability of chemical abortion drugs is undermining state pro-life laws. Under current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policies, mifepristone can be prescribed via telehealth and sent by mail.

“So long as the abortion drug can turn every mailbox in America into an abortion clinic, state laws alone cannot protect human life. We need a national response,” the declaration states. “As such, we call on Congress to end the scourge of mail-order abortions by banning the abortion drug.”

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Hawley said the declaration would provide a standard by which voters and pro-life organizations can evaluate candidates and officeholders.

“My observation is that when it comes to elected officials in Congress, there hasn’t been much will to do much of anything to protect the innocent and unborn, and I think we’ve got to change that,” Hawley said.

He added that candidates from both parties should sign the declaration, saying “anybody who wants to serve in this body to take that pledge and that commitment.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins joined Hawley at the unveiling and said his organization would circulate the declaration among candidates.

“Unfortunately, the Republican Party has lost its voice on the life issue,” Perkins said at the press conference. 

He argued that Christian leaders should fill that “vacuum” by speaking about the sanctity of human life and holding elected officials accountable.

Perkins tied the effort to the Republican Party’s 2024 platform, which he said dropped the party’s previous call for a constitutional amendment protecting unborn children. 

Although the platform invoked the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections for life and liberty and opposed what it called “late-term abortion,” it said states may pass abortion laws and did not endorse any federal abortion restriction. The platform also declared support for birth control and access to in vitro fertilization.

“Pro-life groups will circulate this as a standard because the Republican Party platform removed the life provisions in the last platform,” Perkins said. “We will help make this a standard for candidates to commit to a pro-life position.”

The declaration follows legislation Hawley introduced March 11 that would withdraw the FDA’s approval of mifepristone for abortion and allow women who say they were harmed by the drug to sue its manufacturers. The bill has seven Republican co-sponsors and was referred to a Senate committee but has not received a hearing or vote.

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Hawley argued that the only way to implement proper restrictions and safeguards against the chemical abortion drug is for Congress to act. 

“This Declaration for Life, written by pastors, is calling on everyday Christians across America to stand for life and confront the scourge of chemical abortion,” Hawley said at the press conference. “It’s time to take a vote on my legislation to ban the chemical abortion drug mifepristone.”